Continuous pyrolysis system and its application

ABSTRACT

A continuous pyrolysis system, comprising a reactor with a charge port, a discharge port and a first gas outlet and a first axial transporting structure installed therein; a hest-source generator for supplying heat necessary for carrying out a pyrolysis reaction in the reactor; a solid-product reformer for performing a reforming process for the solid product of the pyrolysis reaction, with a first solid product inlet, a first solid product outlet and a second gas outlet, and a second axial transporting structure installed therein, wherein the first solid product inlet is communicated with the discharge port of the reactor; and a gas-barrier component for preventing the gas product of the pyrolysis reaction from entering the solid product reformer and transporting the solid product of the pyrolysis reaction into the solid-product reformer, wherein the gas barrier component is installed in a channel communicating the first solid product inlet and the discharge port of the reactor.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Taiwan Patent Application No.098138048 filed on Nov. 10, 2009, the contents of which are hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a continuous pyrolysis system; moreparticularly, the present invention relates to a continuous pyrolysissystem having a solid product reformer, which is especially suitable forprocessing waste tires.

2. Descriptions of the Related Art

The process of recycling waste tires generally falls into one of twocategories. One is the physical processing method, in which the wastetires are first broken up, then the steel wires, nylon and rubber areseparated, and finally the rubber is recycled to produce reclaimedrubber. However, as a kind of recycled material, the reclaimed rubberhas poor quality and is unsuitable for use as a raw material to producetires, so such a recycling process is known to have a low resourceutilization factor and poor economic benefits. The other processingmethod incorporates a chemical process, according to which the wastetires are broken up, an appropriate percentage of catalyst is added, andthen the waste tires are pyrolyzed at an appropriate temperature and anappropriate pressure to produce gaseous products, blended oils, carbonblack, residuals and the like. The latter pyrolysis method providessubstantial economical benefits. As a result, current research focuseson this pyrolysis method.

According to the existing technologies, pyrolysis products of wastetires include combustible gases, blended oils, carbon black and thelike. Among these pyrolysis products, combustible gases may be used toprovide the heat necessary for the pyrolysis of the waste tires; theblended oils may be subjected to a further processing through, forexample, a fractionating process to separate the by-products of higheconomic values, such as light oil, gasoline, kerosene, diesel oil andheavy oil. As for the carbon black, due to its complex composition andvery instable quality thereof, it still cannot be used for industrialpurposes and even causes problems associated with subsequent disposal.

However, in industrial applications, carbon black may be the best andmost commonly used black pigment because of its good heat resistance,chemical resistance and light fastness as well as its good tintingstrength and hiding power. At present, carbon black is mostly producedthrough an additional process, for example, by combusting or pyrolyzingcarbonaceous raw materials such as natural gases or crude oils. However,this requires additional costs for the production of the carbon black,consumes valuable petrochemical materials and exacerbates the problemsof environmental pollution and carbon dioxide emission. During times ofenvironment protection awareness, reforming the carbon blacks of poorquality obtained from pyrolysis of the waste tires into usable carbonblacks of great commercial values will not only solve the disposalproblem of waste carbon blacks, but also prevent damage to theenvironment caused by carbon black production. Therefore, it is highlydesirable in the art to provide a pyrolysis system, for use in wastetire pyrolysis for example, that features stable operation, stable andacceptable product quality and can prevent the generation of unusablepyrolysis products that would cause pollution to the environment.

In view of this, the present invention provides a pyrolysis systemcapable of operating continuously that, when used for pyrolysis of wastetires, can produce carbon black with a very low sulfur content and agreat economic value for use in industrial purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of this invention is to provide a continuous pyrolysissystem, comprising: a reactor having a charge port, a discharge port anda first gas outlet and a first axial transporting structure installedtherein; a heat source generator for supplying heat necessary forcarrying out a pyrolysis reaction in the reactor; a solid productreformer for performing a reforming process on the solid product of thepyrolysis reaction, having a first solid product inlet, a first solidproduct outlet and a second gas outlet, and a second axial transportingstructure installed therein, wherein the first solid product inletcommunicates with the discharge port of the reactor; and a gas barriercomponent for preventing the gas product of the pyrolysis reaction fromentering the solid product reformer and transporting the solid productof the pyrolysis reaction into the solid product reformer, with the gasbarrier component being installed in a channel communicating the firstsolid product inlet and the discharge port of the reactor.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a continuous pyrolysismethod that uses the continuous pyrolysis system described above.

The detailed technology and preferred embodiments implemented for thesubject invention are described in the following paragraphs accompanyingthe appended drawings for people skilled in this field to wellappreciate the features of the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an embodiment of a continuous pyrolysis system of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a reactor in an embodiment of thecontinuous pyrolysis system of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a solid product reformer in anembodiment of the continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention;and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a solid product cooler in anembodiment of the continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Unless otherwise stated, “a,” “an,” “the” and the like terms used inthis specification (especially in the Claims) shall be interpreted toinclude both a singular and a plural form.

Herein below, some embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in detail; however, instead of being limited to what isdescribed herein, the present invention may also be applied to differentembodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.Furthermore, for purposes of clarity, the dimensions of the individualelements or regions may be exaggerated in the attached drawings ratherthan being drawn to scale.

The continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention comprises areactor, a heat source generator, a solid product reformer and a gasbarrier component.

The reactor has a charge port, a discharge port, a first gas outlet, anda first axial transporting structure installed therein. The reactor ispreferably a “tubular reactor,” although it is not merely limitedthereto. The term “tubular reactor” generally refers to any appropriatereactor in which the space for containing materials is shaped like atube. Thus, while materials charged into the reactor through the chargeport are undergoing the reaction inside the reactor, the materials aremoved forward gradually by the first axial transporting structure alongthe axial direction of the reactor and finally discharged out of thereactor through the discharge port. In some embodiments of the presentinvention, the first axial transporting structure has a central shaftand a plurality of auger blades. Any appropriate drive device (e.g., anelectric motor) may be used to drive the first axial transportingstructure, and depending on the practical needs (e.g., species,composition and size of the material to be pyrolyzed), the rotationalspeed of the auger blades of the first axial transporting structure maybe adjusted to control the dwell time of the materials to be pyrolyzedwithin the reactor.

Optionally, the reactor may include a plurality of cascadedsub-reactors. The first axial transporting structure is correspondinglycomprised of a plurality of axial transporting sub-structures that areinstalled in the cascaded sub-reactors respectively. Each of the axialtransporting sub-structures has a central shaft and a plurality of augerblades, and is driven by an appropriate drive device such as an electricmotor. For example, each of the sub-reactors may have the discharge portthereof communicate with the charge port of the downstream sub-reactor,and the last sub-reactor may have the discharge port thereof communicatewith the first solid product inlet of the solid product reformer tocomplete the cascade of sub-reactors so that the materials to bepyrolyzed can be transported between the sub-reactors. As used herein,the term “communicate” may refer to any appropriate forms; for example,two sub-reactors may communicate with each other through a pipeline, orthe walls of two sub-reactors may make contact with each other andcommunicate through the openings in the contact areas. By using theplurality of sub-reactors and individual axial transporting structures,an excessive load that would have been experienced by the single axialtransporting structure is prevented. Additionally, the sub-reactors maybe arranged on top of each other to make full use of the space.

The heat source generator is used to supply the heat necessary forcarrying out a pyrolysis reaction in the reactor, and preferably also tosupply the heat necessary for the solid product reformer. In anembodiment of the present invention, a combustion furnace is used as theheat source generator, which supplies heat in the form ofhigh-temperature gases by combusting any appropriate fuel oils and/orcombustible gases and pyro-oils recycled from the pyrolysis reaction.The heat source generator that uses combustible gases and pyro-oilsrecycled from the pyrolysis reaction may have less demands on the energysource and reduce the operation costs.

It has been found that because the pyrolysis reaction may generate avariety of gaseous, liquid and/or solid products (e.g., carbon black),the solid products thus obtained tend to contain a certain content ofgaseous or liquid impurities regardless of any improved pyrolysisreaction. Such impurities make it difficult to make use of the solidproducts, resulting in a degraded economic value of the solid products.For example, for processing waste tires, the solid products (most ofwhich are carbon black) resulting from the pyrolysis usually containcomplex compositions of the pyro-oils and pyro-gases, which make itdifficult to use for commercial purposes (e.g., for use as pigments) andindirectly cause pollution to the environment. In view of this, thecontinuous pyrolysis system of the present invention is particularlydesigned to comprise a solid product reformer and a gas barriercomponent to effectively improve the quality of the products, especiallythe solid products, of the pyrolysis reaction, thereby increasing themarket value of the products.

The solid product reformer has a first solid product inlet, a firstsolid product outlet, a second gas outlet, and a second axialtransporting structure installed therein. The first solid product inletcommunicates with the discharge port of the reactor. The reactor ispreferably a “tubular reactor”, although it is not merely limitedthereto. Thus, while solid products charged into the solid productreformer through the first solid product inlet are being reformed insidethe solid product reformer, the solid products are moved forwardgradually by the second axial transporting structure along the axialdirection of the solid product reformer and finally discharged out ofthe solid product reformer through the first solid product outlet.Similar to the first axial transporting structure, in some embodimentsof the present invention, the second axial transporting structure alsohas a central shaft and a plurality of auger blades. Any appropriatedrive unit (e.g., an electric motor) may be used to drive the secondaxial transporting structure, and depending on the practical needs(e.g., species, composition and size of the material to be pyrolyzed),the rotational speed of the auger blades of the second axialtransporting structure may be adjusted to control the dwell time of thesolid products in the solid product reformer.

The solid product reformer of the present invention is used inconjunction with a gas barrier component. The gas barrier component isinstalled in a channel communicating with the first solid product inletand the discharge port of the reactor and is used to prevent the gasproducts of the pyrolysis reaction from entering the solid productreformer. There is no particular limitation on the gas barrier componentthat can be used in the present invention, and it may be anyconventional component capable of delivering a gas barrier effect; forexample, in an embodiment of the present invention, a gastight valve isused as the gas barrier component.

Similar to the combination of the reactor and the first axialtransporting structure, the solid product reformer may also comprise aplurality of sub-reformers, and correspondingly, the second axialtransporting structure may be comprised of a plurality of second axialtransporting sub-structures that are installed in each of thesub-reformers respectively.

Optionally, the continuous pyrolysis system of the present inventionfurther comprises a solid product processing device and/or a gas productprocessing device disposed at the downstream of the system for furtherprocessing of the solid products and/or gas products that have beenreformed.

The solid product processing device communicates with the first solidproduct outlet. There is no particular limitation on the solid productprocessing device that can be used in the present invention, and it mayoptionally comprises various appropriate physically/chemicallyseparating devices for further processing of the solid products of thepyrolysis reaction, such as a screening device (e.g., a screen grader ora magnetic separator), a grinding device (e.g., a grinding machine), apackaging device or the like. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, to prevent the combustion of high-temperature solid productsof the pyrolysis reaction in subsequent processing and transportingprocesses, the solid product processing device comprises a solid productcooler for cooling the high-temperature reformed solid products from thesolid product reformer. The solid product cooler has a second solidproduct inlet, a second solid product outlet, and a third axialtransporting structure installed therein. The second solid product inletcommunicates with the first solid product outlet, while the third axialtransporting structure has substantially the same functionality andstructure as those of the first and the second axial transportingstructures. Also, similar to the combination of the reactor and thefirst axial transporting structure, the solid product cooler and thethird axial transporting structure may also be comprised of a pluralityof sub-coolers and sub-structures respectively.

The gas product processing device communicates with the first gas outletand the second gas outlet. There is no particular limitation on the gasproduct processing device that can be used in the present invention, andgenerally, it may optionally comprise various condensing devices orseparating devices. In some embodiments of the present invention, thegas product processing device comprises a first condenser a pyro-oilcooler and an oil-mud separator communicating with the first condenser.The first condenser has a first gas inlet, a third gas inlet and awashing-oil inlet, and communicates with the first gas outlet of thereactor through the first gas inlet; the oil-mud separator comprises afirst pyro-oil outlet and a mud-discharging opening; and the pyro-oilcooler has a first pyro-oil inlet and a second pyro-oil outlet, andcommunicates with the first pyro-oil outlet of the oil-mud separatorthrough the first pyro-oil inlet. The second cooler should preferably bedisposed at the downstream of the first cooler to provide a bettercooling and separating effect.

The continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention may be used forthe pyrolysis of various materials, for example, waste tires, wasteplastics, waste wood, or agricultural biowaste, and is preferably usedfor the processing of waste tires.

For better understanding of the present invention, an embodiment of thecontinuous pyrolysis system of the present invention, which may be usedfor processing waste tires, will be illustrated hereinafter withreference to the attached drawings. In the attached drawings, thedimensions of the individual components are only provided for purposesof illustration, but do not represent the actual dimensional scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of the arrangement of a continuouspyrolysis system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.The continuous pyrolysis system 1 comprises a reactor 11, a combustionfurnace 13 for use as a heat source generator, a solid product reformer15 and a gastight valve 17 for use as a gas barrier component. Thecontinuous pyrolysis system 1 comprises the following: a gas productprocessing device, consisting of a first condenser 51, an oil-mudseparator 53, a pyro-oil cooler 55 and a second condenser 57; and asolid product processing device, consisting of a solid product cooler41, a screening device 43 and a grinding device 45. The combustionfurnace 13 is adapted to generate hot air for providing a heat sourcenecessary for the reactor 11 and the solid product reformer 15.

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the reactor 11. The reactor11 comprises a charge port P01, a discharge port P02 and a first gasoutlet P03. In this embodiment, the reactor 11 comprises twosub-reactors disposed on top of each other, namely, a first sub-reactor111 and a second sub-reactor 113 which communicate with each otherthrough a communicating port 116. An axial transporting structure isinstalled in the reactor 11. In this embodiment, the axial transportingstructure comprises two first axial transporting sub-structures 115installed in the first sub-reactor 111 and the second sub-reactor 113respectively, and each of the first axial transporting sub-structures115 is coupled to a corresponding drive device 117. Each of the firstaxial transporting sub-structures 115 comprises a central shaft and aplurality of auger blades. Additionally, the reactor 11 is enclosed by afirst hot air chamber 131. The first hot air chamber 131 comprises afirst hot air inlet P04 adapted to receive hot air from the combustionfurnace 13 and a first hot air outlet P05 adapted to vent the hot airout of the first hot air chamber 131. As shown in FIG. 1, the combustionfurnace 13 comprises a fuel port P06 for receiving fuels and an airoutlet P07 for outputting the hot air and communicating with the firsthot air inlet P04.

Materials to be pyrolyzed are fed into the reactor 11 through the chargeport P01 to undergo a pyrolysis reaction therein. The gas products ofthe pyrolysis reaction are discharged through the first gas outlet P03,while solid products of the pyrolysis reaction are discharged throughthe discharge port P02. In the reactor 11, the materials to be pyrolyzedare first fed into the first sub-reactor 111 where, through rotation ofthe first axial transporting sub-structure 115, the materials are movedforward gradually along the axial direction of the first axialtransporting sub-structure 115 while undergoing the pyrolysis reactiontherein. The first sub-reactor 111 and the second sub-reactor 113 aredisposed on top of each other, so once the waste tires undergoing thepyrolysis reaction move forward to the communication port 116, the wastetires will drop down into the second sub-reactor 113 and then, throughthe rotation of the first axial transporting sub-structure 115 of thesecond sub-reactor 113, continue to move forward in the secondsub-reactor 113 for further pyrolysis. The solid products of thepyrolysis will be discharged through the discharge port P02, while thegas products of the pyrolysis will be discharged through the first gasoutlet P03.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the solid product reformer15. The solid product reformer 15 comprises a first solid product inletP08, a first solid product outlet P09 and a second gas outlet P10. Asecond axial transporting structure 151 is installed in the solidproduct reformer 15. Similar to the reactor 11, the solid productreformer 15 may also comprise a plurality of solid productsub-reformers, and correspondingly, the second axial transportingstructure 151 may be comprised of a plurality of second axialtransporting sub-structures that are installed in each of thesub-reformers respectively. For convenience, descriptions are madeherein with reference to a simple case in which the solid productreformer 15 is not provided with sub-reformers and second axialtransporting sub-structures as shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 3, the second axial transporting structure 151 is coupled to adrive device 153. The second axial transporting structure 151 comprisesa central shaft and a plurality of auger blades. The solid productreformer 15 is enclosed by a second hot air chamber 133. The second hotair chamber 133 comprises a second hot air inlet P11 and a second hotair outlet P12. The second hot air inlet P11 communicates with the firsthot air outlet P05 to receive hot air from the first hot air chamber 13to maintain the solid product reformer 15 at a desired temperature. Thehot air is then vented through the second hot air outlet P12. The firstsolid product inlet P08 communicates with the discharge port P02, and ina channel communicating with the first solid product inlet P08 and thedischarge port P02, a gastight valve 17 is disposed to prevent entry ofthe gas products of the pyrolysis reaction into the solid productreformer 15. The solid products of the pyrolysis reaction are dischargedfrom the discharge port P02, pass through the gastight valve 17, and arethen fed through the first solid product inlet P08 into the solidproduct reformer 15 to be reformed therein, thereby resulting in solidproducts of great economic value with stable compositions.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of asolid product cooler 41 in the solid product processing device. Thesolid product cooler 41, which is adapted to cool the reformedhigh-temperature solid products, comprises a second solid product inletP13, a second solid product outlet P14 and a third axial transportingstructure 411 installed in the solid product cooler.

Similar to the reactor 11, the solid product cooler 41 may also comprisea plurality of solid product sub-coolers, and correspondingly, the thirdaxial transporting structure 411 may be comprised of a plurality ofthird axial transporting sub-structures that are installed in each ofthe sub-coolers respectively. For convenience, descriptions are madeherein with reference to a simple case in which the solid product cooler41 is not provided with sub-coolers and third axial transportingsub-structures as shown in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4, the third axial transporting structure 411 has a centralshaft and a plurality of auger blades, and is coupled to a drive device413. The third axial transporting structure 411 has substantially thesame functionality as that of the first axial transporting sub-structure115. The second solid product inlet P13 communicates with the firstsolid product outlet P09. Any appropriate means may be adopted toachieve a cooling effect, and in this embodiment, a cooling chamber 415enclosing the solid product cooler 41 is used. The cooling chamber 415comprises a cooling water inlet P15 and a cooling water outlet P16. Byintroducing cooling water through the cooling water inlet P15 into thecooling chamber 415, a cooling effect is achieved, and then the coolingwater drains away through the cooling water outlet P16.

After being reformed, the high-temperature solid products are fedthrough the second solid product inlet P13 into the solid product cooler41 to be cooled therein, and by means of the third axial transportingstructure 411, are moved forward in the solid product cooler 41 toobtain cooled reformed solid products at the second solid product outletP14. Then, the cooled reformed solid products are transported to thescreening device 43 to be screened therein and also to the grindingdevice 45 to be ground therein, thereby obtaining the desired products.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the first condenser 51 has a first gas inletP17, a third gas inlet P18 and a washing-oil inlet P19, and communicateswith the first gas outlet P03 of the reactor 11 through the first gasinlet P17; the oil-mud separator 53 has a first pyro-oil outlet P20 anda mud-discharging opening P21, and substantially communicates with thefirst condenser 51; and the pyro-oil cooler 55 has a first pyro-oilinlet P22 and a second pyro-oil outlet P23, and communicates with thefirst pyro-oil outlet P20 of the oil-mud separator 53 through the firstpyro-oil inlet P22. The second condenser 57 has a third gas inlet P24communicating with the third gas outlet P18 and a fourth gas outlet P25.

After being fed into the first condenser 51 through the first gas inletP17, the gas products of the pyrolysis reaction are washed by oilsintroduced through the washing-oil inlet P19 for purposes of cooling. Asa result, condensable components (e.g., pyrolyzed oils) in the gasproducts are condensed into liquid and separated from incondensablecomponents. The incondensable gas components are introduced out of thethird gas outlet P18 and fed through the third gas inlet P24 into thesecond condenser 57 for further condensing. Thus, oils and gasesuncondensed in the first condenser 51 are condensed to a lowertemperature so that pyro-oils with a low flashing point can be collectedand optionally introduced into the combustion furnace 13 for use asfuels or stored. On the other hand, the resulting gas may be recycled orused as a fuel for the combustion furnace 13. The liquid componentscondensed in the first condenser 51 are then introduced into the oil-mudseparator 53 disposed beneath and communicating with the first condenser51 for separation of mud impurities. The mud impurities are periodicallydischarged out of the mud-discharging opening P21 to, for example, a mudprocessing device for further processing. The resulting pyro-oil isintroduced from the first pyro-oil outlet P20 through the first pyro-oiloutlet P22 into the pyro-oil cooler 55 to be further cooled therein. Aportion of the cooled pyro-oil is introduced by, for example, a pumpfrom the washing-oil inlet P19 into the first condenser 51 for use as awashing oil, and the remaining portion of the pyro-oil may be optionallystored in an oil storage tank, used as a fuel of the combustion furnace13, or subjected to further processing to produce oil products of agreater economic value.

The present invention further provides a continuous pyrolysis method,which adopts the continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention.In the continuous pyrolysis method, optionally, a solid productprocessing procedure may be performed on the solid products of thepyrolysis reaction, or a gas product processing procedure may beperformed on the gas products of the pyrolysis reaction. Hereinafter,taking the processing of waste tires as an example, the continuouspyrolysis method will be described with reference to the continuouspyrolysis system 1 described above.

Optionally, prior to the pyrolysis process, a pre-processing device suchas a crusher or a cutting machine is used to pre-process the waste tiresinto appropriate sizes (e.g., processed into particle sizes ranging fromabout 5 cm to about 7 cm). Then, the waste tire granules of appropriatesizes are fed into the reaction chamber 11 through the charge openingP01 at a certain feeding rate.

The reactor 11 is kept at a pyrolysis temperature of about 350° C. to550° C., and preferably of about 350° C. to 450° C. In this embodiment,heat necessary for the reactor 11 and the solid product reformer 15 issupplied by the combustion furnace 13. At the initial stage ofoperation, the diesel or a fuel oil is used as a fuel of the combustionfurnace 13; however, once the pyrolysis reaction starts, combustiblegases (and optionally pyro-oils) resulting from the pyrolysis reactionmay be used as fuels to reduce the cost. Here, a flow rate of the fuelaccounts for about 15 wt % to about 20 wt % of the charging rate. Thehigh-temperature gas generated by the combustion furnace 13 isintroduced, by means of windmill drafting for example, into the firstcombustion chamber 131 through the first hot air inlet P04 to keep atemperature necessary for the pyrolysis reaction in the reactor 11, andthen introduced from the first hot air outlet P05 through the second hotair inlet P11 into the second combustion chamber 133 to keep atemperature necessary for the reforming process in the solid productreformer 15.

After being introduced into the reactor 11, the waste tire granules aremoved forward in the reactor 11 by the first axial transportingstructure 115 to be fully pyrolyzed therein. The rotational speed of thefirst axial transporting sub-structure 115 is controlled by the drivedevice 117 to control the dwell time of the materials in the reactor 11.In some embodiments of the present invention, the materials are allowedto dwell in the reactor 11 for about 40 min to 70 min in total to ensurea good pyrolysis effect.

In the reactor 11, once the materials are transported to the tail end ofthe first sub-reactor 111, the remaining carbon black mixture and theun-pyrolyzed waste tire granules will drop down into the secondsub-reactor 113 through the communicating opening 116 for furtherpyrolysis. Here, the materials pass through the second sub-reactor 113in just the same way as that in the first sub-reactor 113. During thepyrolysis reaction, the oil-gas products (i.e., a oil-gas mixture)resulting from the pyrolysis reaction are transported through the firstgas outlet P03 to the gas product processing device to undergo a gasproduct processing procedure therein, while the solid products aretransported through the discharge port P02 to the solid product reformer15 to undergo a reforming process therein. The disposition of thegastight valve 17 is necessary because it can prevent entry of the gasproducts of the pyrolysis reaction into the solid product reformer 15,to ensure that substantially no undesired gaseous impurity is containedin the solid product reformer 15.

The solid product reformer 15 operates at a temperature of about 250° C.to about 400° C., and preferably about 250° C. to about 350° C. This canreduce the content of impurities such as organic volatiles in the solidproducts, thereby improving the quality of the resulting solid products(primarily carbon black). The solid products of the pyrolysis reactionare introduced through the first solid product inlet P08 into the solidproduct reformer 15 and then, by means of the second axial transportingstructure 151, are moved forward in the solid product reformer 15 whileundergoing the reforming process. The rotational speed of the secondaxial transporting structure 151 is controlled by the drive device 153to control the dwell time of the materials in the solid product reformer15. In some embodiments of the present invention, the materials areallowed to dwell in the solid product reformer 15 for about 30 min to 60min in total to ensure a good reforming effect.

The reformed high-temperature solid products are introduced out of thefirst solid product outlet P09 into the solid product cooler 41 throughthe second solid product inlet P03 and then, by means of the third axialtransporting structure 411, are moved forward in the solid productcooler 41 while being cooled therein. Here, the rotational speed of thethird axial transporting structure 411 is controlled by the drive device413 to ensure that the solid products dwell in the solid product cooler41 for a period of time sufficient to achieve the cooling effect. Insome embodiments of the present invention, the materials dwell in thesolid product cooler 41 for about 10 min to about 20 min in total, andthe solid products are cooled to a temperature of about 40° C. to about60° C.

The cooled carbon black is introduced out of the second solid productoutlet P14, and then fed into the screening device 43 disposed at thedownstream of the solid product cooler 41 to remove the steel wires andscreen out the impurities of large particle sizes. Subsequently, thescreened solid products, primarily carbon black, are introduced into thegrinding device 45 disposed at the downstream where they are ground intoparticle sizes complying with the market demand. Thus, products of greateconomic values that can be used for industrial purposes are obtained.

The gas products of the pyrolysis reaction are introduced through thefirst gas inlet P17 into the first condenser 51, and are washed in thefirst condenser 51 by a washing oil introduced through the washing-oilinlet P19 to be cooled down to a temperature of about 90° C. to about100° C. and to remove the entrained carbon black particulates. Thecooling temperature of the gas products may be controlled by regulatingthe flow rate and temperature of the washing oil. Then, the pyro-oilthat has been condensed into liquid and the carbon black flow directlyinto the oil-mud separator 53 disposed beneath the first condenser 51where the mud is separated through sedimentation. The separated mud isperiodically discharged out of the mud-discharging opening P2 and,optionally, is fed into the reactor 11 through the charge port P01 anewfor further pyrolysis or introduced directly into, for example, a mudtreatment tank for disposal. On the other hand, the pyro-oil separatedthrough sedimentation is introduced from the first pyro-oil outlet P20into the pyro-oil cooler 55 through the first pyro-oil inlet P22 to befurther cooled to a temperature of about 35° C. to about 50° C., and isfinally discharged through the second pyro-oil outlet P23. A portion ofthe resulting pyro-oil is introduced from the washing-oil inlet P19 intothe first condenser 51 for use as a washing oil, and the remainingportion of the pyro-oil may be optionally stored in an oil storage tank,used as a fuel of the combustion furnace 13, or subjected to furtherprocessing to produce oil products of a greater economic value. Thecooled but uncondensed gas components are introduced out of the thirdgas outlet P18 and fed through the third gas inlet P24 into the secondcondenser 57 for further condensing. Thus, oils and gases uncondensed inthe first condenser 51 are condensed to a lower temperature so thatpyro-oils with a lower flashing point can be collected. On the otherhand, pyro-gases that are still uncondensed are introduced into thecombustion furnace 13 for use as fuels.

Now, the present invention will be further illustrated with reference tothe following examples.

Example 1 Pyrolysis of Waste Tires [Operation Conditions]

Particle size of waste tire particulates: about 3 cm to about 7 cmFeeding rate: about 1000 kg/hour

Reactor:

Temperature: about 450° C.

Retention time: about 60 min

Solid product reformer:

Temperature: about 320° C.

Retention time: about 50 min

Solid product cooler:

Retention time: about 15 min

[Description]

A waste tire pyrolysis reaction was carried out by using the continuouspyrolysis system shown in FIG. 1 (operation details of which are asdescribed above) under the afore-mentioned operation conditions. Theoperation duration was about 3,000 hours.

Example 2 Analysis of Product Stability

According to the standard test methods as listed in Table 1, analysiswas made on the compositions of the pyro-oil obtained in Example 1, withthe results recorded in Table 1 (sampling once per hour); and accordingto the standard test methods as listed in Table 2, analysis was made onthe compositions of the carbon black obtained in Example 1, with theresults recorded in Table 2 (sampling once per hour).

TABLE 1 Unit Test Method Value Heat of combustion kcal/kg ASTM D240about 9,800 to about 10,200 Density (at 15° C.) g/ml ASTM D4052 about0.93 to about 0.94 Viscosity (at 40° C.) mm²/s ASTM D445 about 5.9 toabout 9.2 Flash point ° C. ASTM D93 about 30 to about 40 Water contentvolume % ASTM D95 about 0.2 to about 0.5 Water & sediments volume % ASTMD1796 about 0.25 to about 0.6 Sulfur content w.t. % ASTM D2622 about 1.0to about 1.2 Flow point ° C. ASTM D5950 about −15 to about −18

TABLE 2 Unit Test Method Value pH value ASTM D3838 about 8.5 to about8.9 Nitrogen surface area m²/g ASTM D3663 about 62 to about 78 Flowdensity g/cm³ ASTM D2854 about 0.38 to about 0.42 Ash content w.t. %ASTM D2866 about 11 to about 15 Sulfur content w.t. % ASTM D1619A about2.2 to about 2.5 Grit 325 mesh and ppm about 320 to about above 500Volatility w.t. % ASTM D3175 about 2 to about 5 Iodine value mg/g ASTMD1510 about 85 to about 105

As can be seen from the results shown in Table 1 and Table 2, theproducts produced by the continuous pyrolysis system of the presentinvention demonstrate very stable quality (with very small variations inthe parameters) without the problem of poor and varied quality as inconventional pyrolysis products. Therefore, these products can be usedfor industrial purposes.

In summary, the continuous pyrolysis system of the present invention canprovide carbon black and pyro-oil of stable quality that have greateconomic values and may be used for industrial purposes. Thus, theproducts that were produced with the pyrolysis technology of the priorart, which could not be used for industrial purposes due to it varyingquality, are no longer produced with the current invention. In addition,the current invention eliminates the disposal of solid productsgenerated from the conventional pyrolysis reaction, and also reduces theenvironmental pollution caused by producing carbon black through anadditional process, which represents great industrial applicability.

The above disclosure is related to the detailed technical contents andinventive features thereof. People skilled in this field may proceedwith a variety of modifications and replacements based on thedisclosures and suggestions of the invention as described withoutdeparting from the characteristics thereof. Nevertheless, although suchmodifications and replacements are not fully disclosed in the abovedescriptions, they have substantially been covered in the followingclaims as appended.

1. A continuous pyrolysis system, comprising: a reactor having a chargeport, a discharge port and a first gas outlet and a first axialtransporting structure installed therein; a heat source generator forsupplying heat necessary for carrying out a pyrolysis reaction in thereactor; a solid product reformer for performing a reforming process fora solid product of the pyrolysis reaction, having a first solid productinlet, a first solid product outlet and a second gas outlet, and asecond axial transporting structure installed therein, wherein the firstsolid product inlet communicates with the discharge port of the reactor;and a gas barrier component for preventing a gas product of thepyrolysis reaction from entering the solid product reformer andtransporting the solid product of the pyrolysis reaction into the solidproduct reformer, the gas barrier component being installed in a channelcommunicating the first solid product inlet and the discharge port ofthe reactor.
 2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hestsource generator is a combustion furnace.
 3. The system as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the heat source generator supplies heat necessary forthe solid product reformer.
 4. The system as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe gas barrier component is a gastight valve.
 5. The system as claimedin claim 1, further comprising a solid product processing devicecommunicating with the first solid product outlet.
 6. The system asclaimed in claim 5, wherein the solid product processing devicecomprises a solid product cooler having a second solid product inlet anda second solid product outlet and a third axial transporting structureinstalled therein, the second solid product inlet communicating with thefirst solid product outlet.
 7. The system as claimed in claim 1, furthercomprising a gas product processing device communicating with the firstgas outlet and the second gas outlet.
 8. The system as claimed in claim7, wherein the gas product processing device comprises a firstcondenser, an oil-mud separator communicating with the first condenserand a pyro-oil cooler, wherein the first condenser has a first gasinlet, a third gas inlet and a washing-oil inlet, and communicates withthe first gas outlet of the reactor through the first gas inlet; theoil-mud separator comprises a first pyro-oil outlet and amud-discharging opening; and the pyro-oil cooler has a first pyro-oilinlet and a second pyro-oil outlet, and communicates with the firstpyro-oil outlet of the oil-mud separator through the first pyro-oilinlet.
 9. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the firstaxial transporting structure and the second axial transporting structurehas a central axis and comprises a plurality of spiral vanes.
 10. Thesystem as claimed in claim 5, wherein the third axial transportingstructure has a central axis and comprises a plurality of spiral vanes.11. The system as claimed in claim 1, which is used for the treatment ofwaste tires.
 12. A continuous pyrolysis method, comprising using thesystem as claimed in claim
 1. 13. The method as claimed in claim 12,comprising performing a solid product processing procedure for the solidproduct of the pyrolysis reaction.
 14. The method as claimed in claim13, wherein the solid product processing procedure comprises a coolingstep.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 12, further comprisingperforming a gas product processing procedure for the gas product of thepyrolysis reaction.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein thepyrolysis reaction is carried out at a temperature ranging from about350° C. to about 550° C.
 17. The method as claimed in claim 12, whereinsolid product reformer is operated at a temperature ranging from about250° C. to about 400° C.